Finance Specialist, Accounts payable – P3  

Background:

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

The Division of Management and Administration is responsible for the planning, allocation and management of financial, administrative resources including information communications and technology, the effective and efficient delivery of essential operations services in UN Women, continuous development and improvement in operations, policies, and methods to align with UN Women and stakeholders’ evolving business needs and advisory support to the Executive Director in the formulation and implementation of the UN Women overall mission, strategy and plans of actions.

Under the guidance and direct supervision of the Deputy Director of Financial Management, the Finance Specialist, Accounts Payable is responsible for leading invoice processing in UN Women ensuring efficient and effective invoice processes are in place ensuring financial and fraud risks are covered with continuous improvement and focus on best practices. Lead invoice processing unit ensuring client focus in provision of services while ensuring compliance with UN Women Financial Regulations and Rules as well as all relevant policies and procedures of UN Women. 

This position is currently based in the New York duty station with a possibility of being relocated/reassigned to another duty station in the future based on the organizational requirements. Therefore, upon relocation of the position, the selected candidate or incumbent will be expected to relocate to the new duty station. 

Key Functions and Accountabilities:

Leads Development of projects for finance users 

• Lead automation projects for the Finance Section for automating manual accounts payable related processes and reports which have been identified in conjunction with the other Finance Specialists of the Section as well as after consultation with the Finance users in the RC/MCO/COs. 
• Lead change management for better business practices and controls related to invoice processing across UN Women.
• Develop monitoring and reporting of key performance indicators for financial performance of UN Women and the Finance Section deliverables related to invoice processing.
• Monitor and review consistently financial systems, procedures and processes and provide recommendations to Deputy Director, Financial Management for improvements to improve efficiency and effectiveness and lead the implementation team for approved amendments.
• Recommend and/or implement approved cost saving and reduction strategies including cost recovery strategies and cost-effective financial arrangements.

Lead the invoice processing function

• Maintain Systems, SOP, Procedures related to all invoice processing functions related to supplier, contractor and partner invoices etc. focused on client delivery while maintaining compliance with Financial Regulations and Rules, UN Women policies and procedures.
• Support continuous improvement in the areas of invoice processing
• Monitor and drive the follow up of all unpaid invoices and/or invoices with issues;
• Follow up with UNDP on pending, aged payments;
• Monitor and ensure accuracy of the United Nations monthly payments;
• Monitor unaccounted, unprocessed invoices, credit memos and payments by UNDP to ensure all payments are made timely and accurately captured in Quantum
• Ensure payment reconciliation is performed accurately by UNDP minimum monthly basis 
• Support Finance Specialist, Financial Reporting in reconciliation of the interfund balance with UNDP through reconciliation of invoice payments and credit memos with UNDP records 
• Provide timely statistics on the performance of the invoice processing function to Deputy Director including, but not limited to, aged payables reports, processing times, return rates, errors, issues with compliance with policy etc.
• Ensure compliance with closure instructions related to invoice processing with full compliance with closure timelines and providing the information e.g. on accruals as required by the financial reporting team.
• Monitor unusual transactions unusual activities, transaction and investigate anomalies. Report to the Deputy Director, Financial Management the findings and recommendations for actions/decisions.

Manage and supervise Finance Staff in their Unit:

• Prepare the work plan for the unit in collaboration with the Deputy Director including priorities, timelines, targets and standards for monitoring results in line with the FMS work plan.
• Under the guidance of the Deputy Director, responsible for supervision of unit staff and monitoring progress and providing guidance and direction to the staff as necessary to ensure goals and objectives are achieved.

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organisation.

Competencies :

Core Values:

• Integrity;
• Professionalism;
• Respect for Diversity.

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues;
• Accountability;
• Creative Problem Solving;
• Effective Communication;
• Inclusive Collaboration;
• Stakeholder Engagement;
• Leading by Example.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Values and Competencies Framework: 

Functional Competencies:

• Demonstrated business acumen and judgment.
• Ability to think conceptually and strategic, and deliver successful implementation of financial re-engineering, management systems development, policy design, innovation and knowledge product development.
• Ability to travel with planned work commitments is necessary.

Recruitment Qualifications:

Education and Certification:       

•             Master’s Degree (or equivalent) in Finance/Accounting, or a Professional accounting qualification from an internationally recognized institute of accountancy, Chartered Accountant, or Certified Public Accountant is required.

•             Successful completion of the UN Women Accounting Technical Test, as part of the selection process.

Experience:        

•             A minimum of 5 years of extensive and progressively responsible experience in financial management and operations, at least (2) years of which should be at the supervisory level, in a large international and/or corporate organization is required.

•             Experience in IPSAS or IFRS financial environment is desirable.

•             Experience in the use of a modern web-based Enterprise Resources Planning (ERP) System, preferably Oracle Cloud, is required.

•             Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and spreadsheet and database packages, experience in handling of web-based management systems is desirable.

•             Experience leading and coaching staff in international settings is required.

•             Experience in invoice processing function in an international context is required. 

•             Experience working at the professional level in a Global Shared Services Center is desirable.

Languages:         

•             Fluency in English is required.

•             Knowledge of another official UN language is desirable (French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish).

Statements :

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Diversity and inclusion:

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)

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